Humans are adapted for human attachment; this has been clearly outlined by psychologist John Bowlby, who studied the attachment of children. Even as adults, we easily attach to our pets and even to inanimate objects. We fairly easily make the leap from inanimate objects to deities. We also have imaginations so we can imagine what a thing not directly in front of us would say or do. The concept of cognitive decoupling is what children do when they pretend while playing. We use this same imagination to believe in something with an all-knowing mind, particularly if it is woven in biblical texts and other readings. We also are extremely likely to anthropomorphize things. We see human faces and human shapes in all sorts of inanimate objects. People also thrive on ritual, mostly because it is so predictable. As far as we know, our ancestors used medicinals and tribal rituals to achieve trance-like states. The Sentinelese people were known for this behavior; you will still see it today in aboriginal societies and ceremonies. These are social events that improve the feel-good chemicals in our brain. Oddly, while we encourage kids to challenge other pretend things, like Santa Claus or the Easter bunny, it is considered sinful in some faiths to challenge or criticize one's pastor. This social oddity has made religion thrive from childhood onward, when the Easter bunny does not.
THE SCIENCE OF BELIEVING Children old enough to talk will say things that show how easy it is to believe in order and intentional design. Ask a child why trees are so tall and you might hear an answer something like this: "So we can climb high enough to see everything". It's as though they believe the trees exist only for us and that they have benevolent intentions toward us. Children and adults alike also easily see patterns even in randomness. If you show people random collections of dots, many will see something in them, even if it isn't the same pattern seen in every one of us. This expands to our need for meaning, even when none is intended. We want to know what something means, especially under stress or in adverse or uncertain times. 11